Well, it's friday - finally weekend!! But compared to last weekend, when I was in Stockholm, this one is going to be quite boring. Everybody is away (trips to somewhere) - at least the people I usually hang out with. Looks like this will be a very calm and relaxing (boring?) weekend ;) but I'm looking forward to it, in a weird way. I haven't had time for myself in the last few weeks. Somehow there was always something happening, which is nice, but it can be a bit exhausting sometimes. Tonight I'll watch a movie - completely on my own, something I haven't done for a long time (and usually I enjoy watching something on my own). Of course I'd rather be in Stockholm and repeat last weekend, but that's not possible ;)
Anyway, this week I found a new way of learning swedish - DISNEY MOVIES! YAY! As you might now, movies in Sweden are in the original language - except children's movies, they are translated into Swedish. Sofia and I watched "The Jungle Book" and "The Little Mermaid" - in Swedish with English subtitles. So funny to hear those songs in Swedish! I grew up with the German versions, know some of them by heart...but the Swedish songs sound not too bad. I understood quite a lot of the dialogues between the songs, since they spoke a very nice&clear Swedish. I think I'll buy some Swedish Disney movies before I go back to Austria :D Other than that, my week was quite normal, nothing too exciting happened. Maybe I'll write again on sunday - in the meantime Var nöjd med allt som livet ger :)
ps - my "band of the moment" - Hercules and Love Affair - genius album! With Antony Hegarty (from Antony and the Johnsons) singing on some songs... Check their single "Blind" out
Hej everbody :) I'll excuse in advance for a very Rufus-related entry. I'm sure I'll write something like "it was so great" for about 30 times in this entry. However, for all the people who are not interested in reading a loooong breakdown of my weekend in Stockholm (which had more to offer than just Rufus [though Rufus was the main thing ;) ]) here are the hard facts: it was great; I met a lot of nice people; I had fun (in every sense); Rufus was amazing-both times!;
So, let's start..with thursday, because that was when my weekend started. You could call it the "Pre-weekend-Party". We had a very tasty Schnitzel-dinner in our corridor (Dominik, an exchange student from last term was here to visit us..and he made the Schnitzel) and afterwards Martin, Lukas, Maria and I went downtown to see a concert. The Swedish band "Johnossi" played at a local club and since I really enjoy their first CD I didn't want to miss them. However, the concert was nice but not too special. Actually, it was quite "loud", but I enjoyed it anyway. The small picture shows the band.
On Friday I finally drove to STOCKHOLM, something I had been looking forward to for more than 2 months... I arrived there around 4 o'clock, went to the Hostel, grabbed something to eat, strolled around the city and looked at expensive, but perfectly fitting jeans - but I didn't buy them (now I wish I did...). Then I went back to the hostel, had a shower and went to a Party I was invited to. The Party was on Södermalm (an island that's part of Stockholm) and started around 7 p.m. I was quite nervous, because I just (kind of) knew the host (Niklas) and nobody else. But it turned out to be really good, because I met a lot of really nice people (Swedes only ;) ). Since it was a swedish Party it (obviously) was a "Pre-Party" and around half past 11 we went to a Nightclub nearby. And well, what can I say? It was great, I had a real blast there - dancing, talking,...and so on ;) (this is the wrong place for more details)
The next day I met some people from the night before. We had brunch at a nice cafe (String) and afterwars we strolled around Södermalm and Djurgården. At 4 o'clock I met Linda - I know her from the last Rufus concert and she bought my ticket for this Rufus concert. We walked around (you see, I walked a lot in Stockholm) and waited for the concert to begin. We were really nervous and looking forward to it...The concert was at "Dramaten", the Royal Theater, a really beautiful place with a very nice flair. It's hard to describe the concert itself, because it's something that you have to experience yourself to believe it. It was amazing and really special - and we had tickets for the second row! Rufus came without his band, so he sang and played the piano or the guitar himself and although his music is quite opera-like with a lot of orchestration and instruments, his songs worked really well "stripped down" like that. And once again, he proofed that he is a great entertainer. He really rocked the place with his witty comments about Sweden/Stockholm, Sylvester Stallone and other things. He's just so authentic when he is on stage. He makes mistakes and laughs about it - and the audience laughs with him and he means every single word he says. He doesn't have a script with jokes he tells every night, because he tells something different every single time. After the concert Linda and I went to the backentrance to wait for Rufus to come out. We met some other Rufus fans (mostly people from the off. Rufus Messageboard) and together we waited for him. He came out and was really nice - he tried to talk to everybody and signed CDs, tickets, pictures... Since there were so many people we couldn't take a picture WITH him but I took plenty of pictures OF him. It was really nice meeting him - finally. Though I was quite nervous and I didn't know what to say...but he told me that he loves Austria and that it's so beautiful there :D *faint* Obviously I needed some time to calm down afterwards..I was really tired and just went Downtown to meet a friend at a bar but I left quite quickly because I was so sleepy...
The second concert on Sunday was even better, although the first concert was really hard to top. Rufus played different songs, talked a lot and told many funny stories - and he recognized some people in the audience who were there on the night before. It was really special and amazing...I had goosebumps on both evenings, especially during "Ready to Love", "The art teacher" and "This love affair"...AMAZING!
On Sunday (before the concert) I met Niklas again, for a trip through Stockholm. We went to the TV tower (but the weather wasn't that nice, so the view wasn't as impressive as it should be ;) ) and afterwards we went shopping. His boyfriend came back from work and we went to have lunch at a wok restaurant and shopped some more...But I didn't buy anything, because I really should save some money. It was hard, but I resisted buying some really good looking and perfectly fitting clothes - I didn't even buy a CD! Nothing! I spend my money on food (and the entrance to the nightclub) and nothing else. I'm surprised of myself, though I wish I had bought some clothes...hopefully next time.
It was a perfect weekend in Stockholm...and I really want to go there at least one more time before I leave Sweden... More pictures of Stockholm More pictures of RUFUS Anyway, here's a Video of Rufus - not from Stockholm though. Listen to the song - or at least the awesome piano part around minute 2.45...
Sooner than I planned to - my new entry. Ilana and Carl have left :( They had a big Goodbye Party on Tuesday and yesterday we had a big "fika" (coffee/tea time) in our kitchen and a lot of people showed up to say goodbye to them. It's really sad... It's hard to realize that they are not here anymore. I got so used to seeing them nearly every day, hanging out with them, going out, laughing,..just having a good time. But I hope we'll meet again. Maybe not this year, but hopefully next year - I really want to go to South Africa. The picture shows me, Ilana, Sofia, Carl and Jonathan - hopefully there will be a re-union :) What else is there to say... something went wrong with my course registration and I missed the first class yesterday, because I didn't know about it (haven't got any information). It was just a 20 minutes class to get some basic information about the course, but still, I hate the feeling of having missed something. Anyway, the next class is on Tuesday and I'll be there - with or without registration. I'm heading to Stockholm tomorrow - Party on Friday, concert on Saturday (and maybe even on Sunday...) :) And hopefully the weather will be nice...Last time I went there, it was cold, dark and rainy. At least it won't be dark this time (sunset around 7.30 p.m) :)
01. Swedes like to drink (a lot of) alcohol, although it's expensive.
02. Swedish people are handsome/pretty...and innocent, to quote Sofia. For more information about that, contact me ;)
03. Nightlife is quite different - most Clubs (in Karlstad) close at 2 o'clock. Going to the club is just something you do to kill time between the Pre-/After-party.
04. Personal number. That's all you need to survive in Sweden.
05. Moral Courage is very important here. People expect others to behave.
06. Moose don't just walk around on the streets and you can't find them in every corner of Sweden.
07. Swedes love their Schlager. For a country that has such a good reputation when it comes to music (Mando Diao, The Cardigans, The Hives,...ABBA...!) they have a surprisingly "bad" taste when it comes to partymusic.
08. Swedish TV rocks! Nothing is dubbed, everything is shown as it should be - in the original language. And they show all those cool TV Shows that you can't see in Austria. And Swedish TV Shows...great! (well, not all of them...)
09. Paying with your cash card is very common - even when you buy a coke at McDonalds you don't need to look for money - just use your cash card.
10. Sweden Rocks!
Maybe some of those things sound as if I don't like it here - but the opposite is the case! I really DO enjoy living here and I want to come back... It's a bit too early to get sentimental, I know...but Carl and Ilana are leaving in a few days and I realized that I'll be in the same situation in some weeks...2 more months, then I'll go back go Austria. Anyway, there are much more reasons why I like it here...maybe I'll post a "TIHLISSF part 2" (Things I Have Learned...) in some weeks.
Well, what else is there to say? I'm in Stockholm over the weekend and I'm so looking forward to that! I guess I'll write a report when I'm back. Until then - bye :) PS: Some clever clogs surely realized that I stole the title for this entry - shameless as I am. The original title is "things I have learned in my life so far", by austrian art designer Stefan Sagmeister.
a fish that has a secret wish; A wish to be a big cactus; With a pink flower on it... (from "Tree Hugger" by Antsy Pants)
Don't know why I start this post with this line...well, one explanation could be that I'm just listening to the Juno Soundtrack (which is genius and I recommend it to everyone - this kind of music gives you a funny warm feeling inside, exactly what you need on a cold day like this ;) and WATCH THE MOVIE!). However, I had my swedish exam today - and I think it went ok. I know that I did some (stupid) mistakes, but I hope/beg/pray that it will be positive. On Friday we have the "Hörförståelse" (listening comprehension) part for which I can't prepare anyway. So I finally have some days off... Yesterday we had the presentation for the film course (we had to analyse a short movie - an avantgarde short movie, which made everything a bit harder ;) ). It went well, I guess. Could have been worse... But as always - I have to wait for the results before being happy and start partying ;) So, what else is there to say... On Monday we had a really nice easter dinner at Jonathan's place and there was so much food it was impossible to eat everything. Köttbullar [meat balls], potatoes, sausages, meat pie, vegetables, tomato/mozzarella salad, asparagus, brownies and milk tart - it was delicious, but I couldn't move afterwards. The picture just shows a small selection of the food ;) Tomorrow we'll continue with our "eating marathon" and have a pancake breakfast (you could say it's "pancake 2.0" since it's the second time we do something like that). Pancakes with all kinds of things - Nutella (mmmhhh), jam, honey, ice cream, cream, vanilla cream,... I'm so looking forward to feeling sick all day - but well, that's worth it ;)
So, that's it for now...not too exciting, but I thought I should update my Blogg more often ;) Feel free to leave comments ;)
I hope you have a nice easter weekend :) Well, I'm stuck in Karlstad, but I have enough to do anyway, because I have a swedish exam on wednesday - and the final seminar of the film course on tuesday. On Monday we'll have an easter meal at Jonathan's - that's basically all I've planned. Maybe going out tonight, but it's too early to say that for sure ;)
Anyway, happy easter weekend! Manuel
PS: I love this song, it's very springlike...Jason Mraz - I'm Yours (new Version) [not released in europe yet *grrr*]
I thought it's time to introduce you to some swedish music (except Kent, Abba, Roxette, Ace of Base, Mando Diao, Sugarplum Fairy,...). Here's a small selection - the last 3 ones are definitely not everybody's cup of tea, but I like them. Feel free to give me some feedback ;) Some more radio friendly songs will come later this month or in April. Enjoy :)
Säkert! - Vi kommer att dö samtidigt A nice pop-song - but there are better songs on her album ;)
Lasse Lindh - Varje litet steg A live-acoustic version. I like his CD - a lot :)
oh, and THIS SONG (click) was on the Soundtrack of the Korean movie/series(?) "Soulmate" (Hello Matthias ;) )
Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle Nice electro-pop (at least for me it sounds like pop). He was the opening act for Kent.
Lo-Fi-FNK - Steppin Out Another electro song...quite catchy :)
Slagsmålsklubben - His morning promenade And one more electro song...or let's call it BlipBlop. Reminds me of the old SuperMario Adventures on my Gameboy ;) btw - Slagsmålsklubben means "Fight Club"
but I'm looking forward to it, in a weird way. I haven't had time for myself in the last few weeks. Somehow there was always something happening, which is nice, but it can be a bit exhausting sometimes. Tonight I'll watch a movie - completely on my own, something I haven't done for a long time (and usually I enjoy watching something on my own). Of course I'd rather be in Stockholm and repeat last weekend, but that's not possible ;)
